There already is a national gun registry. It’s called the NRA membership list.

A colleague made an interesting point this morning. If the NRA and its paranoid membership are so worried about the government creating a national gun registry, lest the government use that list to confiscate guns, they should stop worrying: The best list in the country already exists. It’s called the NRA membership.

Sure, the NRA membership list doesn’t contain a gun registry of “all” firearms owners in America. But it does contain a list of many of the most paranoid, crazy, militant gun owners. The very people a “fascist” government would be most concerned about.

Interestingly, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is already barging into gun dealers shops across the country violating the McClure-Volkmer Act by violating gun owner’s privacy by copying the shop’s 4473s the agency does not already have an electronic copy of.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo -– a man who gives you a pretty good idea of where gun control is going -– said, on the front page of the New York Times, that “confiscation” of firearms is an option. Obviously, having a registration list makes such a task much easier.

While I get the NRA trying to convince as many paranoid gun owners as possible that the evil government is coming to take their guns, if I were afraid the government were going to take my gun (had I one), the last thing I’d do is give money or, worse, become a member of the NRA.

Think about it: If you’re worried about a tyrannical government making a gun registry with every “lawful” gun owners on it, so that the government could then go down the list and one-by-one barge into your homes and take away your beloved surface-to-air missiles, why would you willfully add yourself to a list of known gun owners?

I think of the gay example. When I was in the closet, I was certainly already interested in gay rights – I knew I was gay, I was simply afraid of everyone else finding out. That meant, I didn’t subscribe to any gay news magazines like the Advocate, and I even was afraid to buy “gay” things, like the Advocate, with my credit card, for fear that I’d be on some database marketing list as “gay.” And I sure as hell was not going to join a gay rights group and get on their database of known “gays.” Sure it was a bit paranoid, but welcome to life in the closet (I’m sure pre-DADT-repeal military members know exactly what I’m talking about).

In essence, paranoid gun nuts oppose a national gun registry for the same reason closeted gay people don’t want to be on a list that says they’re gay. So why, then, would “closeted” gun owners want to join a gun organization, or even give a gun organization a donation, lest the government barge in (or hack in), take that organization’s list, and use it to track down many of the most virulent, militant gun owners in America?

Sure, I don’t think the government would ever confiscate the NRA’s list and then use it as a gun registry to confiscate every gun in America. But gun nuts like the NRA, and their members, worry about this kind of paranoid thing all the time – it’s their bread and butter.

And it doesn’t have to be the government at all. How about somebody outside of the government – Anonymous, fore example – hacking into the NRA and stealing the database of gun owners? Not like that’s an impossibility. If Anonymous can hack Mexican drugs lords, they can certainly handle an American non-profit.

And let’s not forget the occasional technical snafu, or criminal, making private lists public – how many times have we heard about laptops being left in a coffee shop with a list of thousands, if not millions, of Americans’ social security numbers etc? It happens.

The crisis at Sony deepened on Tuesday as it admitted that an extra 25 million customers who played games on its Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) PC games network have had their personal details stolen – and that they were taken before the theft of 77 million peoples’ details on the PlayStation Network (PSN).

The Department of Veterans Affairs began notifying 1.8 million veterans and doctors Monday that their personal and business information could be on a portable hard drive that has been missing from an Alabama hospital for nearly three weeks.The hard drive may have contained numbers and other personal information from about 535,000 individuals and billing information on 1.3 million doctors nationwide, the VA said. That’s more than 37 times more people than authorities initially believed were affected.

So don’t tell me this is clearly fanciful. This stuff happens far more often than we’d like.

I just think it’s ironic that the NRA is capitalizing on paranoid-gun-owning-America’s worst fears of the government to build its membership and donor base, and by doing so they’re building the very national gun registry they claim to fear the most.

John AravosisFollow me on Twitter: @aravosis | @americablog | @americabloggay | Facebook | Instagram | Google+ | LinkedIn. John Aravosis is the Executive Editor of AMERICAblog, which he founded in 2004. He has a joint law degree (JD) and masters in Foreign Service from Georgetown; and has worked in the US Senate, World Bank, Children's Defense Fund, the United Nations Development Programme, and as a stringer for the Economist. He is a frequent TV pundit, having appeared on the O'Reilly Factor, Hardball, World News Tonight, Nightline, AM Joy & Reliable Sources, among others. John lives in Washington, DC. John's article archive.

101 Responses to “There already is a national gun registry. It’s called the NRA membership list.”

No existent FEMA camps. Nationwide confiscation programs would require the use of local police and jails. Many have stated that they will not participate. As the federal law enforcement proceeds to confiscate firearms, they would have to ensure the security of their own offices and homes. Such programs don’t happen in a vacuum.

Suggest you research before authoring an article. The NRA membership list is one of the best guarded databases in the US. Even the location and backup site is not public knowledge. NRA will not go into detail. Besides, NRA membership is about 5 million. What about the other estimated 50 or more million?

As a LIFE Member of the NRA (I shoot professional Trap and Skeet, and membership is required), I have never tried to shove my philosophy down anyone else’s throat. Guns are tools, nothing more. I could make a fully automatic cannon out of an air compressor, a solenoid valve, and a bit of pipe that could shred a streetful of people. Does that mean we should ban air compressors? It is NOT the tool who is at fault for gun violence. Would people prefer it was machete violence? It is the SAME thing. Additionally, does anyone seriously think criminals are going to obey ANY new law concerning guns? They won’t! The only thing gun control does is disarm people who should have legal authority to own a gun of their choice. The best analogy I have ever heard for gun control is this: If the government was a man, and the citizens were a woman, the conversation would be this;
(Man) Why do you need that gun?
(Woman) So you don’t rape me.
(Man) I wasn’t going to rape you…
(Woman) Then you shouldn’t need to worry about my gun then, should you?

Why is it that NOW the government is so concerned about us being armed? It has been undeniably proven that gun violence has gone DOWN, significantly, since Americans have been arming themselves. What is the powers that be so scared of that they feel disarming us is necessary now? Is there a tad of rapey intent behind this? Hmmmmmmm….

All I know is that I will NOT give up my guns. If a confiscation is planned, there will be a blood bath in the process of attempting it. Our 2nd amendment is to allow us to defend ourselves from tyranny, plain and simple. It is NOT about hunting or sport. It is to preserve freedom, even the freedom of people that hate the idea of a gun and their right to state that opinion. A gun is what guaranteed that freedom. If we allow ourselves to be disarmed, you can kiss that freedom goodbye.

I have no hate for anyone but those who intend to oppress me or my fellow citizens. I realize we won’t all agree on this subject, but I will defend any man’s right to disagree with me with my gun and my life. Power is derived by the threat of harm, and we as a people must never relinquish that right to a corrupt government. The day we do, the genocide will commence, as it has in every other society on Earth throughout history.

War is coming. Buy what ever arms and ammo you can find.Organize,arm,equip and train as a militia/team for mutual defense. Set up a 5/10 program in your AO. Logistics. More is better. The shiesters and their meat puppets in the press hate and want to kill gun owners(we all know this) The first days after the “election” the filth were on EVERY national media outlet chanting…”Kill the gun owners,Kill the NRA members!” REMEMBER THAT. I saved it and play it for people who either have no memory or try to make excuses.Only an idiot or a fool think there can be any reconciliation. Liberty and 1775 is THE answer to the problem. Fight well and win. Good hunting. MGK

I keep seeing the word “paranoia” being slung at people defending the constitution. I see the “paranoia” and cowardice coming from anti-American fear mongers trying to hand their personal protection responsibility over to an already overburdened legal and governmental system. It is your responsibility to defend yourself and your family. Look it up people, you might actually learn something. FYI I am neither a NRA member, nor am I paranoid, but I will carryout my American duty to uphold and defend the Constitution (even the parts I don’t like). “(8) “Law enforcement agencies and personnel
have no duty to protect individuals from the criminal acts of others;
instead their duty is to preserve the peace and arrest law breakers for
the protection of the general public.”
Lynch v. N.C. Dept. of Justice, 376 S.E. 2nd 247 (N.C. App. 1989)”

Cuomo actually said he would consider confiscating guns, or mandatory sale to the state(proably for 50 or 100$ like the holiday gun buy back programs) why is that paranoia if he ACTUALLY SAID IT as a possible option to propose. Granted he has only power in NY but should he want to make a presidential bid. He is taking his past actions with him. I certainly don’t a nanny cuomo or bloomberg as president.

I am not a NRA member as I don’t care for bumper stickers and they are handling this rather poorly by not compromising on anything. I don’t believe cops will literally knock my door down to grab my guns. But if a confiscation was implemented in the future via this registry, you certainly would get arrested and fined for failing to cooperate. If you have a fair amount of weapons registered and have not turned them in it would certainly behoove the cops to take them quietly or come with overwhelming force and bust in the door while sleeping.

It is pretty naive to believe that some politicians(i.e. Diane Feinstein, and Cuomo by his own mouth) and there are many citizens who are scared of guns who would like to severely restrict firearms(currently focused on semi auto rifles until someone brings two glocks into a school shooting) from citizens. Permitting them as is done with pre-ban full autos is simply a way to price people out of owning them, or getting them to “volunteer” to give up their guns because its too expensive and invasive to keep the permit.

4.3 Million NRA members are brave and confident. As for the other 160
Million Gun Owners not on a list, it remains the main reason the NRA and
GOA don’t have more members. Membership means being on a list, then a
confiscation list, then a FEMA Camp list, and then on no list or
historical record. Anonymity is the first rule of the Patriot, not
showboating in a kill zone.

What I find really fascinating is that most of the paranoid crap I hear about is stuff I read on the Internet. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read the comments of these people talking about their arsenals. On the Internet where the federal government requires ISPs to keep track of who has what IP address and to keep records of what people do when they are on the Internet. The government can ask that that information be handed over at any time under the guise of “terrorism” or what have you and voila, they know who has guns in their homes. Something for these people to think about before they brag about how many rounds of ammo they own on an Internet forum. Not to mention that Homeland Security monitors websites.

Exactly. (I can’t “like” for some reason with this profile on this site through Disqus, not that you’d know ’cause the new system’s anonymous, but I’d know.)

So a manual “like”

The NRA was also mostly silent regarding the abuses after Katrina. They bleat about it a bit now but crickets then.

Here is an excellent history of the NRA recently written by Mark Ames: http://nsfwcorp.com/dispatch/newtown and whatever your stance on the organization it’s full of facts and a good read, if long. But it’s relevant, and a reason why millions and millions of gun owners and hunters and sportsmen and women and advocates for our Bill of Rights are NOT members of the NRA. But also that to judge all the membership by it’s leaders and a few is the same as judging all of America during Bush for Bush. We are not he; they are not their leadership, mostly, either.

But to be sure, the NSA has the complete list! Even before they piped the whole of the internet into massive searchable archives they had a reasonably complete list. We live in an age where joining a private organization is a public act. (When that organization is so public.)

As to the original post, the government most surely knows the complete membership list.

But as to the direction the wind from the comments is taking, 50 years ago, if there were an internet, would we be calling for the outing of the Communist Party membership list, along with home addresses, telephone numbers, and Facebook profiles?

That’s what this thread makes me think. Makes me go Hmmmmm.

Rights were not enumerated to protect those we like. Nor were those synthetic, not originally enumerated, like marriage (being decided now) and privacy (almost there.) Would we wish our private organizations kept our personal information private? Is something still private if a hacker or someone can somehow get it and release it and then it’s public so fair game? Do we believe in the right to privacy? And if so would we violate another’s and at what line?

How low do we go, pursuing a righteous goal? Ends justifying means? I can hear Cheney laughing and drinking brandy with that lawyer he shot in the face toasting you. And himself. He has brothers and common cause in people who do these kind of things.

Publishing names of members of a private organization, especially with the added spice of publicly identifying them as gun owners and also targets of public shaming and anger is an interesting thought experiment – but even at that it leaves me filthy. Really. We as a blog are better than that just as We as a People can have a better debate about this issue.

Actually the craziest gun owners, the one who really believe there will be civil war in our lifetime, are not members of the NRA for this very reason. The NRA owners actually are pretty sensible. NRA member are about 4 million, about 160 million have guns in their homes.

Oh come on. Guns in the hands of individuals in a civil society at peace have nothing to do with warfare. Or is life for you nothing but warfare? If so, I pity you, wretched, pathetic, sniveling weakling who can’t deal with life without a gun.

For that matter, the government’s data-mining operations under which they monitor e-mail traffic sure would be helpful in locating gun owners. Every time I visit a gun nut’s web site, I get ads for ammunition, guns, and other such things served by my web browser. I expect any government seeking to mount electromagnets on their black helicopters to suck up all the guns would tap into that information first.

Right! What are gun fanciers so afraid of? Are they ashamed of owning firearms or something? Maybe they’re worried that some crackhead or gangbanger will ride public transportation all the way out to whatever soul-dead burb they live in and show up on their doorstep demanding that wall-size flat panel TV! Maybe gun fanciers worry about the element of surprise when they say: “How about it… punk?” or “Is this an assault rifle… or isn’t it?”

After paying off Bush’s spending spree we can improve those figures. In the meantime I get great comfort knowing that your taxes are going to buy food stamps for poor children and families, who don’t pay taxes or can afford guns.

What a brilliant idea! The NRA leadership (and their followers) have never struck me as all that smart. I wonder how well protected their membership list is — maybe with the password “guns” or “liberty” or maybe even “abcdef”. Maybe somebody should consider hacking them.

Well done, John. I couldn’t have said it better myself. The same goes for the hardcore, survivalist “preppers” featured on the Nat Geo channel, who brag about how they’re going to survive the deluge of dumbass, deluded, government-dependent libtard marauders that will pour out of our foul cities when U.S. society goes completely into the toilet. All I can say is if I was stockpiling food, water, weapons, ammo and hazmat suits I sure as hell wouldn’t broadcast it to the entire world. Just sayin’.

Except, for 1.) there is no far left anymore, 2.) there is absolutely no legal call for confiscation, 3) responsible gun owners can see through the Obama adjustments as mostly ineffectual, 3.) civilians owning military hardware only have one wacko thought in mind: turning those guns on police and soldiers if they think they are threatened by the goverment. This latter point might be clearly called treason.

Thanks for turning the crank. I’m still laughing at ” like the other hippocrates” The trolls are hysterical today. Bush whacking them into open flight is so much fun ( if you’ll pardon the gun analogy.)

“Except for lawful police and military purposes, the possession of weapons by individuals is not constitutionally protected.” ACLU policy statement #47 (1986)

Senator Dianne Feinstein: “If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an out-right ban, picking up every one of them… ‘Mr. and Mrs. America, turn ’em all in,’ I would have done it. I could not do that. The votes weren’t here.” CBS-TV’s “60 Minutes”, February 5, 1995

“We want them all registered.” – Nancy Pelosi

“…the final problem is to make the possession of all handguns and all handgun ammunition — except for the military, policemen, licensed security guards, licensed sporting clubs, and licensed gun collectors — totally illegal.” -Pete Shields, Chairman / founder, Handgun Control Inc., “A Reporter At Large: Handguns,” The New Yorker, July 26, 1976.

“The Brady Bill’s only effect will be to desensitize the public to regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation. — Charles Krauthammer, The Washington﻿ Post, April 5, 1996

You make a huge leap assuming that everyone who advocates for gun control is not a gun owner. Some of us are just not worried about any restrictions passing, because we know we are law abiding and it won’t really make any difference to us… except maybe another piece of paperwork.

Financial predators encouraged by BILL CLINTON AND THEN HUD SECTY CUOMO, with help from Frank, Pelosi, Dodd, Emanuel, Schumer AND Barack Hussein Obama, who as a chicago lawyer threatened to sue banks ON FAKE REDLINING ALLEGATIONS so that his FUTURE DONORS AT GOLDMAN SACHS could help push BS mortgages to people who couldn’t’ pay them, guaranteed BY OUR TAX DOLLARS COURTESY OF THE ABOVE DEMOCRATS. (and goldman & other Obama donors including Jack Lew then made BILLIONS betting the very mortgages they packaged and resold would FAIL…)

You stinking commie-led dems lie out your rear ends – YOU caused the housing bubble; Bush went to Congress REPEATEDLY begging them to SLOW DOWN FANNIE AND FREDDI and EVERY DEM SCREAMED “NO!”.

What gives you the impression that this house is unarmed? Better put that sign up in the light of day Missy or Grampa will fill your ass with buckshot as a home invader. In this state we have ‘stand your walker’ laws.

That’s one thing I never understood… all these supposed freedom and libertarian types haven’t been up in arms, or lobbying against the Patriot Act. Which essentially gives the government permission to do whatever it wants, as long as it puts the label of terrorism on the paperwork.

Except, really, nobody at all has seriously talked about confiscation. So it is entirely a moot point. Even the new laws passed in New York state grandfather in already existing firearms that people have in their possession.

Gosh, if only the NRA had actively fought passage of the deliberately misnamed “Patriot” Act, which lets the government gut the 4th Amendment, the right to privacy and requirement of a warrant the NRA would claim are necessary to access its membership list and financial information.

However, the NRA couldn’t be bothered to agitate against the “Patriot” Act, the organization stayed silent.

Even worse for the NRA and its apologists/lackeys, there’s no 2nd Amendment exception in the “Patriot” Act.

The NRA sure didn’t oppose the “Patriot” Act, which guts our 4th, 5th, 6th & 8th Amendment rights, which made it legal for the feds to spy on US citizens without a warrant, the NRA hasn’t lead the charge against National Security Letters, which allows an FBI agent to open an investigation without needing the approval of the agent’s superiors, or a search warrant.

Which means that any such spying done on the NRA, getting access to its membership lists and financial information is much easier to accomplish now, as there’s no 2nd Amendment exception in the “Patriot” Act.

The 2nd Amendment is not more sacrosanct than any other portion of the Bill of Rights, including the now gutted 4th Amendment, the one the NRA would use to argue for a right to privacy and against any government attempts to seize institutional information.

If the Obama Administration does indeed seek to seize the NRA’s membership list and financial information, the NRA has only itself to blame for staying silent when it’s institutional voice could have helped sway the argument against passage of the “Patriot” Act.

Interesting? Did you know that there are over 94,000 deaths each year due to medical errors and malpractice ! That’s almost 8 times as many people killed by criminals and their guns every year.. But if you subtract the criminals killed by other criminals, criminals killed by police, and criminals killed in self defense by citizens, The medical error deaths are probably 20 times as great.. Your Doctor, statistically, will kill you before any NRA member does.. Now go polish your nice shiny tinfoil hat for the next leftard meeting..

Ya’ll need to get out of the litter box more often, but God Bless ya’s gun shoot’n lil’ hearts. BTW, there isn’t a far left anymore. All the wacks have gone over to the NRA loon wing which represents YOUR agenda: military Guns, any Guns, killing Guns, and death. Oh, did I mention guns?

Most experts believe that registration of hunting weapons would be ineffective anyway, as most crimes are not committed with them, but Canada’s restrictions and registrations on handguns has been very effective. And where do you suppose most of Canada’s illegal handguns come from? I’ll give you three guesses.

Most ot that 16 trillion dollars — or whatever it is — is Bush’s two wars, Bush’s tax cuts, and the price of bailing the country out of the economic disaster created largely by financial predators with the encouragement of the Bush administration. In fact, the bailout itself began under the Bush administration. So take your nutjob right-wing crackpottery elsewhere.

On what pretense? What law have they broken? Im far from a conspiracy nut, but even I would not want my guns confiscated. Im law abiding and have no mental health history. Under the Constitution, Im allowed to bear arms _specifically_ to prevent governmental tyranny.

Gee. You’ve really kicked over the hornets nest of wackjob gun crazos with that one, John.
I have one thing to say to you loonies: If your identity and “liberty” depend upon owning a gun, it doesn’t amount to much. What a pathetic bunch of bottomfeeders!

Canada wasted 3 BILLION dollars and succeeded in registering 5 out of 25 million firearms and 2 out of 7 million owners before they dumped their rifle and shotgun registry. Now extrapolate that across the U.S. that has over 200 million firearms. Obama has given your children and grandchildren a 16 Trillion dollar debt as it is now, how much bigger do you want that to go on useless feelgood projects?

How about publishing the list in the newspaper? Oh goody, lets do one of HIV patients and those with the new STDs!

The author above is a MORON, because gun -owning NRA members are LAW-ABIDING citizens who have ALREADY had their backgrounds checked and/or had their guns registered (NOT ALL STATES are fascistic enough to demand registration) thus they are ALREADY KNOWN TO THHE FEDS.

The reason they belong to the NRA is to PREVENT the Feds, cheered along by idiots Aravois, from making it MORE DIFFICULT FOR LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS TO DEFEND THEIR FAMILIES.

“if I were afraid the government were going to take my gun (had I one)”

Considering the above statement, I’m sure you would have one of those “This home is proudly gun free” signs on your property? Perhaps now that you have made a public statement about not owning a firearm, perhaps you tell the people who are reading this blog exactly where you live.. Unless your paranoid of course?

Yes, the NRA and its members do worry about government intervention into the 2nd Amendment, with confiscation being the one thing many gun owners worry the most about. This is primarily because of the wacks on the far Left are screaming for meaningless legislation and live in fantasy land where gun confiscation is eventually possible. You guys put out misinformed, uninformed and incorrect information to push YOUR agenda, just as the NRA does in promoting their agenda. Ya’ll are no better and Ive learned so much more about this issue than I ever thought I would just in the past few weeks.

There are also gun owners that disagree with the NRA’s policies and are not members. Personally I think if this is all you’ve got there will be very little done about gun control. Background checks with every sale are a small step that should have been taken a long time ago. I think serious education, at least 30 to 40 hours on legalities and safety and proof of secure storage that only the gun owner has access to along with an annual psych exam and periodic checks by law enforcement of gun owners are the least we should consider. I am a gun owner and in my opinion if you’re not willing to submit to at least this you’re not mature enough to own a gun.

I think Anonymous should do exactly that. Hack the list. Make it public. Anyone out there listening? I have no technical skills in this matter, but I support this idea absolutely. I also support the idea of gun owners names and addresses being publicly available.